Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage is a global network of 40 + autonomous Christian groups (including Peace Catalyst) who are engaging in a peaceful and prayerful show of solidarity with the people of Gaza by walking the length of the Gaza strip in cities around the world during Lent. As peace catalysts, we’re helping to organize a few walks around the United States. So far, we have one scheduled in the Twin Cities on March 23rd and one in San Diego on March 30th.

Peace Catalyst International unreservedly calls for a ceasefire in Palestine and Israel, the return of all hostages, secure humanitarian corridors, and an end to the widespread killing and destruction in Gaza.

How can peacemaking be the thing that leads to justice, and vice versa? From a Jesus-following perspective, we can see how the methods of creativity and nonviolence that Jesus used not only disarmed the oppressors of His time and perhaps convicted them of their wrongdoing, but also gave a sense of freedom and dignity to the person being mistreated. There's something different about creative nonviolence in the ways of Jesus - it's not just about freeing the oppressed; it's also about freeing the oppressor.

This weekend we hosted an in-person discussion with Dr. Salim Munayer of Musalaha, a nonprofit working toward (and actually seeing) reconciliation in Israel-Palestine. Dr. Munayer shared with us not only about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but very wise and hard-learned insights about conflict itself and the process of reconciliation.

We at Peace Catalyst see the escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and the increasing deaths on both sides, as reprehensible and counterproductive to any holistic or just peace. As peacemakers who have worked for ten years to build peace between Christians and Muslims, we know that this conflict is very important to both communities, and we understand that there are many passionate perspectives and competing calls for justice.

I have to ask this question because sometimes I think that we can equate criticism or accountability with hatred and not love. But when we love someone we want to see them at their best and living up to the values they proclaim. We want them to thrive, and we want them to live in light of whom God has created and called them to be, which can often mean holding them accountable to the principles and standards they have professed or proclaimed a desire to uphold. 

A Peace Catalyst peacemaker for several years, Andy Larsen now uses photography and his experience in the Holy Land to lead peacemaking trips to the region. This is one of his many experiences in Israel/Palestine this spring during the convergence of explosive events in the area.

I want to address several reasons why evangelical believers in the Middle East—and particularly in Palestine and Israel—are upset with Trump's declaration. My critique is from an evangelical perspective and it is a plea to my brethren across the water.

From the perspective of Israelis, in recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, "United States president Donald Trump is to be commended for finally correcting the painful and unjust slight and doing justice to the Jewish State. But that is only a part of the truth. There is another truth as well, and there will never be peace as long as we hang on to only part of the truth as if it were the full truth."